Throwback Thursday: The Electric Carving Knife

Since it is Thanksgiving here in the United States, we thought it would be appropriate to cover a piece of kitchen technology in this week’s installation of Throwback Thursday. Today, in honor of the holiday, we’re covering a gadget invented over forty years ago that may be part of your T-Day celebration today, the electric carving knife.

Patented in 1964 by Jerome L. Murray, the high-tech piece of cutlery looks like a cross between a standard hand-mixer and a pair of electric hedge trimmers. The knife works its magic by rapidly moving two serrated blades back and forth over a central plane. The appliance gained popularity in the late 1960’s after is was manufactured by companies like Black & Decker, although it is less popular today thanks to one major drawback: maintenance. Electric knives have to be taken-apart and cleaned after every use to prevent the growth of bacteria between the blades and in the motor housing, making the convenience of such an appliance negligible.

Although not as popular as it once was, the knife is still used to cut the traditional Thanksgiving squab in houses all around the U.S.

Keep your ears open today, and if it sounds like someone is trimming a rhododendron bush in your kitchen… know that Mr. Murray’s electric knife is hard at work. Happy Thanksgiving!

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

I remember one Christmas at my grandparents where my Dad attempted to use one of those to carve up a turkey and subsequently spent the next several hours at the hospital getting stitches.

Mgl323

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in here. Today is the day its ok to be a fatass.

Goofan (aka Apple Hater)

So funny. I just used one to carve up a couple of moronic apple fanboys! I can’t stand intellectually inferior beings, which anyone thats not a goofan ska apple hater is that inferior.

Anonymous

You are so f@#kin lame, I swear I would pay to see how you act in a social setting lmao…

rw

The blades are ejected from the handle, easily come apart and are washed just the same as any knife would be. They are incredibly easy to clean, so I don’t think this is the reason that they are less popular. I think it’s due more to the fact that most families no longer sit down to a Sunday roast. In the past this appliance would have been used a couple times a week instead of just at holidays.

sirpaul

People prefer to sit in front of the TV and computer nowadays :(

laserman

we should start using lasers to cut turkeys

http://twitter.com/as_j Andrew Stanley-Jones

Electric knives works insanely well at slicing fresh home made bread. When the bread is still warm out of the oven (of bread machine if you must) it be easy to crush, especially if it has a nice crust. Electric knife make perfect slices.

Anonymous

definitely happy thanksgiving!!! to all the wonderful people at BGR… my family also owned one of these, we did it the old fashioned way this year

Trakz

Does it come with wifi???

Happy thanksgiving!

Booboolala2000

I want the one with the gee bees. And the wi-fi’s.

mitch

How many MHZ?

http://twitter.com/MikeKillion Mike Killion

Used this today, worked great.

Gwhyte3

This aint no throwback, i used my joint today.

Goofan (aka Apple Hater)

They work pretty good!

Thehotbreadguy

You were supposed to clean inside the housing too? Oooo, that might explain the rampaging diarrhea and vomiting we came to expect as a post-holiday tradition…